OFFICIAL EXPLANATIONProject SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC2)
THE PROMPTQuote:
While at first glance a Renaissance fair may look a lot like a theme park, unlike roller coasters and Ferris wheels, this fair’s attractions are the sights, sounds, and tastes inspired by sixteenth-century England.
• meaning and structure
→ The sentence sets up a contrast between a Renaissance fair and a theme park.
Objects such as roller coasters and Ferris wheels should be logically compared with attractions of some other fair.
→ The use of
while sets up the contrast implied by the sentence.
THE OPTIONSQuote:
A) While at first glance a Renaissance fair may look a lot like a theme park, unlike roller coasters and Ferris wheels, this fair’s attractions are the sights, sounds, and tastes inspired by sixteenth-century England.
• logical
→ The use of the word
while sets up the contrast between the two types of attractions.
→ Renaissance fair attractions are compared to (contrasted with) roller coasters and Ferris wheels (which are the attractions at a theme park)
Try lopping off the "While" intro to see the way that "unlike" works in this sentence.
→
[U]nlike roller coasters and Ferris wheels, (The Renaissance) fair’s attractions are the sights, sounds, and tastes inspired by sixteenth-century England.Question:What are unlike roller coasters and Ferris wheels [that we see at modern theme parks]?
Answer: The attractions at a Renaissance fair [which are the sights, sounds, and tastes inspired by sixteenth-century England].
KEEP
Quote:
B) At first glance, a Renaissance fair may look a lot like a theme park, unlike roller coasters and Ferris wheels; however, this fair’s attractions are the sights, sounds, and tastes inspired by sixteenth-century England.
• illogical comparison
→ what the heck does this thing say?
-- That a Renaissance fair may look like a theme park whereas roller coasters and Ferris wheels do not look like a theme park?
-- That we should compare a Renaissance fair to roller coasters and Ferris wheels?
Whatever it says, the option is illogical.
ELIMINATE B
Quote:
C) A Renaissance fair may, at first glance, look a lot like a theme park, but this fair’s attractions are the sights, sounds, and tastes inspired by sixteenth-century England, unlike roller coasters and Ferris wheels.
• unclear comparison
→
what is or are unlike roller coasters and Ferris wheels?
The sights, sounds, and tastes inspired by sixteenth-century England?
→ diction error. We should use NOT or RATHER THAN instead of UNLIKE, this way:
A Renaissance fair may look like a theme park, but this fair's attractions are the sights, sounds, and tastes inspired by sixteenth-century England, NOT/rather than roller coasters and Ferris wheels.
→ placing
unlike roller coasters and Ferris wheels at the end makes it difficult to know what these two things are being compared to.
ELIMINATE C
Quote:
D) Although it looks a lot like a theme park at first glance, a Renaissance fair, unlike roller coasters and Ferris wheels, the sights, sounds, and tastes inspired by sixteenth-century England are its attractions.
• can I just say "hot mess" and move on? Probably not.
• this option absurdly compares a Renaissance fair with roller coasters and Ferris wheels.
It says that a Renaissance fair is not like roller coasters and Ferris wheels.
• lacking a preposition
We need something such as " . . .
AT a Renaissance fair . . . the sights, sounds, and tastes [that are] inspired by sixteenth-century England are its attractions."
ELIMINATE D. Moving right along. . .
Quote:
E) With the sights, sounds, and tastes inspired by sixteenth-century England as the fair’s attractions, unlike roller coasters and Ferris wheels, a Renaissance fair at first glance may look a lot like a theme park
• comparison error again
→ what is or are unlike roller coasters and Ferris wheels?
→ this option appears to contrast a Renaissance Fair with roller coasters and Ferris wheels.
The meaning is absurd.
ELIMINATE E
By POE, the answer is A.COMMENTSparasma rubyrehal Nishman TheGraceful gmatcafe arya251294 Roshan1411 and
anirudhraj welcome to SC Butler.
This question is hard.
While you should always be trying to eliminate the four worst options, that approach is indispensable in this case.
You are forced to rethink option A.
(Actually, when you do the POE, at the least, you should keep A tentatively.)
It is the only option that directly compares (contrasts) attractions with attractions.
I will award kudos for bravery and have already awarded kudos to other posts that I deleted because they were repetitive.
Stay safe, everyone.